The Eighth Crew
by Time flows
Summary: The seven crew of the Argo II were sailing the Mediterranean, around the Greek mainland. But when they were attacked by monsters again and landed in Crete for repairing, they knew they will be in danger. But they never thought they would meet a boy named Alex Rider. Sorry for the error! Chapter 3 is fixed.
1. Chapter 1

**The Eighth Crew**

Chapter one: Crete

The Argo II was sailing the Mediterranean, around the Greek mainland.

Annabeth was worried. Although it was better than flying over Gaea's territory, the route was too dangerous. The route of heroes, but also the place full of monsters. And she was sure they would meet one soon.

That's when the ship crashed into something. Annabeth tensed. She ran to the deck. She saw others, who were trying to find out what was going on.

"Percy!" Annabeth shouted. Percy turned to her with anxious face.

"There's a sea creature, but I can't talk to it. Do you think it's..."

"From the aquarium again? Kate and Porky?" Frank said behind him.

"...Keto's monster. Yeah. I'll try to jump into the sea and find out what it is." As he said that, he uncapped Riptide and walked toward the edge of the deck. Suddenly, Annabeth grabbed his arm. "Wait."

The sea was swirling. Then, hundreds of fishes with sharp teeth emerged. And right beside the ship, the one bigger than a horse was aiming to strike the shp again, where was already squashed.

"Leo, fly the ship!" She yelled. The Argo II shot out of the sea and flew at full speed, away from the horrible aquarium fish.

They landed, since Leo said he should repair the squashed part. They found a beach with some tourists, hoping the Mist would make them see some kind of a motorboat or a cruiser. But the real problem was not mortals. The island they landed, was the most dangerous place they had ever been.

Crete.

* * *

Alex Rider sat alone at the bench. He was on a vacation on his own. he did need some time to be alone, an exotic place that reminds nothing from his past. Like this place, Crete. Full of unreal stories.

He had a hard life. He had been a pawn of MI6. MI6 had ruined his life and had made Jack, the only person he could have believed and relied on, die. Living in Sabina's family was okay, but he couldn't forget the events from the past. If he was a normal boy, worrying about his school projects and scores, not worrying about saving the world and preserving his life...

Alex ran his hand on the newest iPhone Smitheres had given to him with awful lot of secret funtions. It called back his memories, but he couldn't live without a phone in this age. He put on his earphone and tried to enjoy the music and landscape.

That was when he wwas something. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a bronze... old fashined warship? He turned his head in that direction. But all he saw was a cruiser, but its front was crushed. And there were teenagers repairing it.

_Teenagers?_ Alex thought. _How can teenagers repair ships? _

Alex was sixteen now, and even though he had destroyed the world's biggest criminal organization, repairing a crushed cruise wasn't something he expected to a teenager. getting curious, he turned on the eavesdropping funtion.

Just then, his vision flickered. The cruiser turned into a damaged warship and one of the teenagers was holding a sword.

Alex was shocked. He put off the earphone right away. But the vision was the same. He blinked hard, but he could still see it. Not believing his eyes, he put on the earphone again and listened.

"...don't need more celestial bronze..." A boy's voice.

"...soon...ten days... Olympus..." Another boy.

That didn't make sense. Alex presumed it was some kind of code. His curiosity overwhelmed his sense of danger. He opened his bag and brought out some gadgets. A fan club(with highly advanced matal framework) and the zit cream(with very little cream left) were there. He was ready to explore.

"Somebody is eavesdropping on us at the beach!" The boy who he heard earlier shouted.

* * *

Leo and Percy ran to the ladder and got into the ship. Percy was furious. How could he say about such important things when they were out of Argo II? And who was listening to them? "Leo, who was listening to us?"

" I don't know. I just sensed something like an eavesdropping device. A demigod product, I suppose." Leo replied. He frowned. "How could you let someone hear about the blood og Olympus?" Leo hesitated, as if he wanted to say more, then went back to the helm.

Percy was already feeling really guilty. Crete was full of dangerous creatures and he lowered his guard. He recapped Riptide.

Suddenly, there was a movement behind him. He thought it was Jason or Frank, but he remembered everyone was near helm. He immediately uncapped Riptide again and turned back.

* * *

Alex knew he was walking into trouble. But he had to find out about it. Maybe it was some kind of terrorist organization or something else that should be stopped. He got on the ship, then suddenly the ship was afloat. He couldn't get out of the ship now. Alex ignored the surprise of flying. he just wanted to know what was going on.

When he went to the deck, the boy with the bronze sword turned to him. He had a fierce look in his green eyes. He swung his sword, but Alex dodged. He could feel the amazing skill the boy had, but Alex had something the boy didn't have. When the sword was about to thrust him, he stepped aside, caught the blade in the metal framework of the fan, and flipped hard with both hands. The sword came out of the boy's hand, and Alex caught the hilt and pointed it at his opponent.

"Who are you? And what is this place?" Alex demanded.

At that moment, an arrow flew toward him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

Frank shot the arrow at the boy without thinking. Right after releasing the arrow, he realized that he was killing the boy. He was terrified of himself.

Then something even more terrifying happened.

The arrow went through the boy, as if it was made of air. All three of them froze. then Jason appeared and shot a lightning at the boy, and he fell unconscious.

The others hurried toward Percy and the boy who wasn't moving.

Piper gasped. "Is he... is he dead?" Her voice was shaking.

"No," Jason shook his head. "Just stunned. He will wake up any minute.

"He is a mortal. My arrow passed right through him... how..?" Frank was dumbstruck. He couldn't believe a mortal boy could beat Percy. Then Leo picked up the torn fan. "I haven't seen this material before. What _is_ this?"

Percy picked up Riptide and uncapped it. "He could seize Riptide in it. Whatever it is, it's as strong as celestial bronze," he was breathing heavily. Annabeth walked to his side to comfort him.

"Look at this!" Leo said. He took out the boy's cellphone from his right pocket.

"Don't turn it on!" Hazel shouted. "You know we shouldn't be near that kind of technology!"

"Don't worry," Leo said. He examined it closely. "This was made by a demigod. A half-sibling of mine, I suppose. I'm sure it was used to eavesdrop on us," as he was saying that, he put the phone and the fan into his tool belt.

"But how come he is using demigod products if he is a mortal?" Frank asked.

"Maybe some of them made an alliance of something. And I think using these helped him see through the Mist," Annabeth said. "Don't you think we should tie him on a chair?"

* * *

They did tie the boy with wires on a chair. Piper examined him. She was sure she had seen him before. Then she finally remembered.

"This is him."

"Who?" Jason asked.

"About a year ago, I went to an international school in Cairo," she went on. "There was this boy, too. He was from England, but disappeared after a short time. There was a rumer he was under a false name and some of his friends suspected he was the one who attempted to kill the secretary of state."

The room went silent. "So... he is a teenage killer?"

"I don't know. I think I should interrogate him," she sighed. She hated to charmspeak, but it was the only way to find out who he was.

"Wake up.," she ordered. The boy opened his eyes and scanned the surroundings. Piper saw his eyes and startled at it. The boy had really serious brown eyes. /but it also seemed hollow. Like he had seen somebody close to him die.

Piper ignored the thought and concentrated. "Please answer me." she said. "What's you name?"

The boy hesitated for a moment. "Alex Rider."

"Why were you spying on us?"

He glared at the sound of '_spying'_. "I wasn't _spying_. I needed to know who you were. I've seen drug dealers and killers using a ship as their base, so why shouldn't I feel suspicious of a cruiser which turned into a warship with teenagers using swords and speaking in codes?"

Piper couldn't say anything. She could see the others were confused, too. When she was about to speak again, she was hit by something and fainted.

* * *

Alex didn't want to knockdown a girl younger than himself, but he had no choice. Especially when the girl was interrogating him and started to get informations about him. He couldn't understand why he had answered to those questions.

He had been keeping the zit cream in his back pocket. He melted the wires with the last bit of the cream and freed himself. He had discovered that there was Mossberg 500 in the room. he saw people were using their swords even though they had a gun, so he assumed that they couldn't shoot well. He had to get the gun. He would never shoot them, but he could use it to force them to land.

He sprinted toward the gun. Too late, he realized that they must had dumped the gun because they didn't have any bullets. But he couldn't stop. He picked up the gun and very, very much relieved when he felt the weight of bullets in the gun, although the bullets weighted a little strange. He put his hand on the trigger. "Land, and let me out," He said furiously. But the blond boy who was trying to help the fainted girl up seemed angrier. Sparks literally flow over him. Alex had no idea what was happening. But behind the boy, something was forming.

Alex couldn't believe it. He wanted to believe it was an illusion, but something was being formed, and he couldn't had been more shocked. It was a Minotaur. _I must be dreaming_, He thought. His fingers moved against his will. He raised the gun, aimed and pulled the trigger. Then he was struck with lightning.

* * *

Annabeth was having a terrible day. Landing in Crete was dangerous. When they started to fly again, she was relieved, but he didn't expect to see a mortal boy beating Percy and Piper. And she couldn't stop thinking about that boy. First was his eyes. That were eyes that had seen too much. She doubted he had a harder life than her, but what he said before he attacked Piper was something she hadn't expected.

Who was this boy?

Alex Rider was obviously an English. His accent confirmed it. And it was certain he had a demigod ally who made him the fan and the iPhone. Probably a son of Hephaestus. But she knew nothing else except for the rumor Piper had told them. Annabeth couldn't decide if this boy was an enemy or not. He spied and charged at them, but he helped them by shooting the Minotaur accurately.

_The Minotaur_. When he shot the gun, she clearly saw the Minotaur turn into dust when it was mid-forming. Of course, this was Crete. Home of Minotaur. It was very likely that re-formed in his home territory, but she couldn't believe he re-formed _inside_ the Argo II. The ship was supposed to keep out the monsters. Now they were nor safe at all. Even in the Argo II.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry! My computer was a little crazy this morning...**

* * *

Alex woke up with pain. He felt like he was electrocuted. He opened his eyes and found the Asian boy who had shot him.

"You're awake," the boy said. "My name is Frank. And you are Alex? Cool name."

Alex scanned Frank. There was no way could beat that big guy. But this boy didn't look like he was going to hurt him. There was just cautiousness in his eyes. Not annoyance or anger.

"How long was I out?" Alex asked, making a poker face. He didn't want to show him any emotion.

"For hours." Frank said. He hesitated, then he asked, "Where did you learn shooting? It was instinctive firing. And you hit bull's eye, literally."

Alex managed a laugh. Then he frowned. "You mean...there was a real Minotaur? And I killed it?"

"Yes."

"But that's a myth!" Alex said. This was impossible.

Frank scowled. "You don't know?"

Alex didn't answer. There was no way it was real. Must be a trick. Maybe a well-made hologram.

But still, he couldn't understand the arrow. He did feel it pass through his body. It was definitely a real.

And Frank made him feel anxious. Thinking back what he had just said, he realized that he recognized instinctive firing, He must be an expert about weapon skills.

What was this place anyway? The whole thing was so crazy that he wanted to punch himself.

* * *

Percy woke up with a start. He accidently fell asleep on his chair, and he had the weirdest dream he had ever had. He saw a younger version of the boy Alex Rider. He saw everything he had suffered, and he was horrified. How could somebody be sane after all those events? He needed to tell this to Annabeth immediately. He knocked on her door and she opened it.

"Percy?" She seemed surprised. She examined his face. "You had the same dream, didn't you?"

Percy nodded. "Do you think we can trust him?" He asked.

Annabeth thought for a moment. "I don't know if he can trust us. He won't have any dreams about our lives as he is a mortal."

They stood silently for a moment, and headed to the hall, where they put Alex Rider.

They called everyone again. Piper seemed okay, but she had to lean on Jason for support. Jason looked like he was ready to summon a thunderstorm. Leo came too, though he looked like he didn't want to leave the helm. When everyone gathered, Percy and Annabeth told everyone they had seen in their dream. Then Percy turned to Alex. "All of this is true, right?"

Alex scowled. "All you telling me that you got my past from a dream?"

Percy nodded. "It must be difficult to believe. We are demigods. Our dreams are special." Then he added before Alex could say anything. "We are going to tell you about ourselves. And I'm telling you, it won't be easy to believe."

For a long time, They told Alex everything. It took hours. They hesitated every moment at first, as they wasn't sure if it was safe to say too much. But eventually they told him everything. Alex sat quietly listening to their words.

Alex seemed confused, but he nodded. "I believe you."

"Do you?" Jason glared at him. His eyes were fierce.

Alex looked at Percy. "You sounded like me talking to my friends about myself. And I've seen enough evidences," he managed a brief smile. "Besides, I always suspected Smithers was too brilliant for a human."

"The one who made the gadgets?"

"Yes." Alex replied. Then he turned to Piper. "Sorry that I hurt you."

Jason glared at him. "Sorry? That's all you've got to say?"

Piper grabbed his arm. "It's okay, Jason. I'm not that hurt." She turned to Alex "Swear on the River Styx you will never tell anyone about us."

"I...swear it on the River Styx," he said reluctantly. "Can I go now? or do I have to put my hand on a mythology book to make the oath?

"you can go now," Percy answered. And he untied the ropes. But actually, he wanted him on his side. He saw his experiences. And he had seen his fighting movements. Besides, he won't be affected by celestial bronze and Imperial gold.

Just then, there was a shooting sound. There was a helicopter, armed with machine guns. It was shooting bronze bullets at them.

"What's that?" Percy shouted. Then realized. "We are back in Crete again? What's happening?"

"Festus! Festus! Answer!" Leo shouted, but the ship was out of control. "The engine was hit! I can't control!"

Then, the ship began to fall.

* * *

It was Jason who helped them to land in one piece. They landed right beside a cliff. Seven demigods ran to the deck. Alex hesitated, then grabbed the Mossberg 500 and ran after them.

"King Minos, I thought he was in the Underworld." Percy murmured. He uncapped Riptide. Jason raised his gladius. "Leave us alone if you don't want to go back to Underworld in the hard way!"

King Minos shouted, "I'm the king of Crete! I have rights to kill invaders! Only two of you will be saved for my patron!"

"By a king who doesn't even have a helicopter pilot. Very convincing,"Alex said.

"You will die first!" he pulled out a handgun and shot at Alex, but the bullets just passed through him. Unluckily, one of the bullets hit Jason on his arm. He clutched arm and fell on his knees.

"Jason!" Piper ran to his side. King Minos laughed. "You are kneeling at me? How weak. I thought my father's Roman form was more powerful!"

Jason's eyes were full of anger. "How dare you insult my father!"

He was bleeding, and Alex doubted he could fly or shoot electricity with that kind of injury. He thought fast. He had read stories about Crete and King Minos. Then he remembered. "Do you remember how King Minos died?" he asked people around him.

"He was killed in Sicily, but I don't remember how. If I knew, I would manipulate Mist... All I can do right now is slowing down the helicopter..."Hazel said.

Alex smiled. "What occurs when water and fire meet?"

"Water vapor?" Percy asked. He looked at him as he wanted to say Are you crazy?

"Boiling water!" Annabeth said. "Cocalus killed him with boiling water! Percy! Leo!"

There was no need to be told twice. Percy raised his arms, and to Alex's surprise, a huge wall of water shot out behind the cliff. Then Leo opened his palm and white heat came out of his hands. The water became hot and it was boiling when the water rushed over their heads and crashed on the helicopter. Minos screamed with horror. He lost control, and the helicopter swung around, breaking nearby branches. It disappeared in the forest, and there was an explosion.

Alex sighed. He thought he was done with his old life. Now, for better or worse, he was starting the most dangerous adventure in his life.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm really sorry about the chapter 3 accident! If you haven't read the fixed chapter, please go to chapter 3 and read it. I am posting this chapter 4 early, as an apology for the accident.**

**By the way, Alex is a mortal, not a demigod.**

* * *

Percy watched King Minos return to the Underworld.

Then he helped Jason to stand on his feet. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Jason took out some ambrosia from his pocket and gulped it down. The bullet wound soon faded.

Percy saw Alex looking at the forest where the helicopter had fallen.

"I didn't thought he would die this fast." Alex said suddenly.

"Do you wish him to return and attack us again?" Percy asked sarcastically.

"No. But how could he die this easily? He had home advantage, being the king of Crete," he said.

"The Mist," Hazel said, "We all expected to see the explosion. Maybe he was manipulating the Mist, just like his wife."

"Whatever he was doing, he broke the engine," said Leo. Everyone looked at the engine room. It was smoking. Percy wondered how long it would take to repair it.

Then, something appeared beside him. It was a big box which looked just like the ones Hermes delivered. There was a letter on the top of the box. "Is that Hermes' delivery?" he asked to Annabeth.

"I think so. But who sent it?" Annabeth picked up the letter and opened it. She frowned as she tried to read it. "Alex, this was sent to you."she said, giving it to Alex.

Alex read it, then smiled as it burst into flames."Smithers' letters always burn up like this." he said, opening the box. There were lots of stuff in the box. Percy recognized some of them from his dream. "These are the gadgets?" he asked.

"Yes," Alex replied. "I think Smithers knows what have just happened. Maybe he have put a special camera or a listening device in my phone. Anyway, he says I will need these. He says he added some new gadgets he made recently. He also says he added some more things for the repair, too." In the box, there were tools and parts of machines, too. Alex pulled out everything from the box. But Percy saw there was still something left in the corner of the box. "Are those contact lenses?" he asked. Alex picked them up and examined closely. "There must be some special functions. Leo, can you take a look at it?" Alex handed it to Leo. Leo examined it too. "It has functions of Google glasses, only smaller. And tiny explosives hidden, and...I think it can help you see through the Mist, though you can already see through it." he said, returning it to Alex. "I think I should use your friend's stuff to repair the ship. And as I told you, your friend is definitely a son of Hephaestus."Leo said as he put some the gears and other metal components in his tool belt. He went back to the engine room to fix.

"Uh... Alex? So...Are you going to leave now?"Percy asked cautiously."You can stay with us if you like."

Alex paused,"I think I need some time to think."

* * *

Alex sat down on a nearby chair. He thought about everything that he saw and heard. A world of Greek and Roman gods and monsters? It sounded like a fantasy book, but he saw it with his own eyes.

He knew he didn't belong to that world. Bronze bullets and arrows didn't even hurt him since he was a normal human. A mortal. He wasn't supposed to be a hero in that world.

But he could see the seven demigods were trying to save the world from destruction. In a way, it was like seeing himself. Except that they were together. Alex wondered if he could have friends like them.

Finally, he decided to follow them."I'll go with you."

Their heads turned toward him.

"Really?" Percy smiled. "You know the dangers ahead, don't you?"

"I know. But I want to help you."He smiled, too. "I can't let the world destroyed, after all what I have done to save it."

"Then, it's settled. You can use the eight room. We have removed all of Coach Hedge's stuff, so you can move in with the gadgets."Annabeth said.

"Sure", Alex said. He wondered what it would be like. Having adventures with seven supernatural friends.

* * *

Annabeth sat in her room, thinking about the Great Prophecy. _Seven half-bloods shall answer the call_. She was worried. She was quite sure that Alex wasn't an enemy, and she wanted him on their side. Percy said the same thing, too. But she wasn't so sure if it would be okay to have him in the ship. The prophecy didn't say anything about the eight member.

But the prophecy didn't say there shouldn't be more people except for the seven half-bloods. As far as she knew, the number of half-bloods was still seven. Technically, it wasn't against the prophecy.

She didn't want to endanger people, but Alex himself chose to follow their journey. He was the greatest ally who they had right now.

* * *

Leo finished repairing the engine room. The parts from box was perfect. He had no idea how the gadget maker made them this good. Some of them were better than his. He wondered if he could work in the intelligence services in the future like him.

_No_. He told Calypso that he would open a machine shop with her. He picked up the crystal he had brought from her cave. He was sure he could find the way to Ogygia with that._ Gods can visit there whenever they want, so why can't I?_ He put down the crystal and sighed.

"Festus, let's finish this quest as fast as we can. After that, we can began out own quest."

The Argo II raised the sail and the seven demigods headed to Athens. With the eighth crew, Alex Rider.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Two days passed since Alex had joined the seven demigods. They were going to arrive in Athens soon.

Alex was in his room, reading books to gather informations about this new world. He was the eighth crew of the Argo II, helping the demigods to defeat Gaea. _Eight is a Chinese lucky number_, Frank told him. Alex decided to believe he would have devil's luck on his side in this time, too.

For two days, he had been testing the new gadgets. Some of them were identical to the ones he had had. But some of them were completely new, such as the Post-it that caught fire when he crumpled or rubbed it together, the gloves that made him be able to climb a wall like a spider, and the Rubik's cube that became a hand grenade when he arranged them in a special pattern.

He liked all of his gadgets, except for the contact lenses. Honestly, he didn't like contact lenses. He didn't like the idea of unknown material covering his eyes, and he was quite sure his eyes would hurt if he wore them for long. Besides, he had a good eyesight. Leo said it would help him see through the Mist, but be could already see everything. And if he needed explosives, he could just use the figurine or the inhaler. He picked up and examined the lenses again, wondering if he would ever use it.

Suddenly, there was a _thud!_ on the deck. Alex ran upstairs to see what happened.

On the deck, there was a beautiful black chair which appeared from nowhere. He saw Annabeth and Piper standing in front of the chair.

"How beautiful! I've seen a lot of expensive chairs, but nothing like this!" Piper said.

"But it's Stygian iron. It's definitely from the Underworld. How did it get here?" Annabeth said. She seemed a little nervous.

"But it's awesome. I wish my chair was like this!" Piper said, taking a step towards the chair.

Alex felt something was wrong. he was still holding the contact lenses, and he put them on for the first time. Then, a text appeared in front of his eyes.

_The Chair of Oblivion: Belongs to Hades. A counterplan for the souls that don't lose their memories even after crossing the River Lethe. Theseus sat on the chair once, and stayed there until Hercules rescued him. _

"Stop!" Alex yelled.

Too late. Piper sat down on the chair as the other demigods came. Immediately, her eyes lost focus. Alex tried to make her stand, but she didn't move an inch.

"Piper!" Jason shouted, running to Piper. No response. "Piper!" Nothing.

Hazel froze. "That's,,, that's,,," she couldn't finish her words.

"The Chair of Oblivion," Alex finished the sentence. The others turned to him. "How do you know that?" Percy asked.

"My contact lenses. I should have been wearing them at the first time." Alex answered.

"No. I should have noticed what it is when I first saw that. And now Piper..." Annabeth was trembling.

Jason knelt in front of Piper and tried to meet her eyes. "Piper, it's me, Jason. You are sitting on the Chair of Oblivion. Can you just stand up, Pipes?"

No responce. Of course, it was Piper who had the talent of charmspeak. Not Jason. Jason tried to pull her up, but she didn't move. She was stuck.

Hazel looked like she was in shock. "That's my father's. But why... how..."

Then, a familiar-looking helicopter emerged.

King Minos.

"How do you like my special present? I brought it from my ex-workplace!" he shouted, laughing evilly.

Jason raised his sword, then lightning arced out of the sky and hit the helicopter. But it didn't do any harm, since King Minos was a son of Zeus. Percy tried to blast him with water, but he just flew higher, just out of the range of the water. Frank shot an arrow, but it glanced off, too. Then, Alex saw Hazel concentrating hard. After a second, the helicopter suddenly teleported and appeared right in front of them. Alex searched his pocket, and he found a gel-ink pen. He twisted its cap, and pulled the plunger. Annabeth picked up a broken blade and threw it, but King Minos blocked it with his own sword. Then, Alex threw the pen.

The pen went straight to King Minos, and exploded. He didn't even have time to cry out. The helicopter spun around, and then plunged into the sea.

"The pen is mightier than the sword," muttered Percy. Alex smiled, then his face hardened as he realized Piper was still on the chair.

The demigods gathered around Piper. "We need someone as strong as Hercules,"said Annabeth, her voice full of anger."We must release her from the chair."

"Release her from the chair..." Hazel hesitated for a moment, then sliced the chair with his spatha. The chair collapsed, and Piper gasped as her eyes went back to normal.

"Piper!" Jason ran forward and hugged her. Piper was shaking hard. "Jason... I..."

"It's okay, you are safe now," Jason said, patting her. Piper just sobbed.

"Destroying the chair... yes, it's no longer the C_hair_ of Oblivion now. Great job, Hazel," said Annabeth.

"I just imagined the chair to be weaker than my sword," Hazel said.

"Do you think the iron pieces still have the same effect like the chair?" Percy asked.

Annabeth sighed. "Just throw them away. They are just Stygian iron now, and we can't use them. Hazel, is King Minos dead?"

"Yes, I can feel that." Hazel replied. She glanced at the pieces of the chair, then went to her room.

The other demigods hesitated, then followed her example. Jason called the wind to sweep the parts of the chair, then escorted Piper to the downstairs.

Alex was left along for a moment. He looked at the one remaining piece which was stuck in the bullet hole of the deck floor. He wanted to take the piece. To avoid touching the iron, he took off his watch and used its ends to pick it up. Carefully, he took it to his room and put it in a small bulletproof box on his desk.

At that time, he didn't know that it would save the life of the entire crew.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry I'm late. I've been wondering for ages if this chapter is all right because it contains something that none of the books have.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Percy was sure he saw a glimpse of a black dragon at 8 o'clock. Actually, it seemed more like a drakon since it looked like a serpent and much bigger than a normal dragon, but Annabeth had once told him about Chinese dragons, and he presumed this must be one.

_But what does a Chinese dragon have to do with Greeks and Romans?_ Percy thought. He decided to keep an eye on the sea this morning. They were going to land on the port of Athens that evening, so everyone, even Alex, was ready to fight any monsters from Gaea. The earth goddess would never let them enter Athens without any monster to fight with. He wondered if this dragon was one of them, but something was wrong. It didn't attack him. It just appeared for a second, then disappeared.

Two hours later, Annabeth came to the deck. She looked a little uneasy.

"Percy, I think I saw a black snake in my room, but it vanished right after I saw it. Things are getting weird. Snakes are usually sent to baby demigods to test them, not to vanish in front of them." Annabeth said. She looked worried.

"I saw something like that, too. But mine was a Chinese dragon. Just like what you explained before," Percy said.

Annabeth frowned. " A snake and a dragon... that's two animals of the Chinese zodiac." She sounded a little unsure.

At that moment, there was a roar. Something was flying toward them from the east. At first, Percy thought there were some kind of birds. However, when they came close, Percy realized he was looking at eleven giant creatures in the sky. Even the rat, the smallest one was taller than him. And there was a person on each animals.

There was a shooting sound. And Percy realized they were shooting guns at him. He uncapped Riptide.

The ship alarm went off. Leo Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel ran to them, there weapons drawn. Hazel shouted."Mercury!"

"Hermes?"

"No, hydrargyrum! Atomic number 80!" Annabeth yelled. "It's impossible! It's supposed to be liquid in this temperature!"

"_Shengxiao_?" Frank stared at the creatures. "I thought they were just myth!"

"Who said myths weren't real? How can we beat them?"

Just then, Alex appeared.

* * *

Alex had been cleaning the gun. He didn't have to worry about the bullets, since it was magically loaded. At that moment, Alex heard the alarm bell and sprang to his feet with the gun. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should bring the gadgets. When he heard the sound of bullets, he realized he had no time for gadgets, and quickly wore the bulletproof jersey and ran the the deck.

There was an unbelievable scene in front of him. More than ten giant animals were in the sky, and when Alex showed himself, all of the animals and their riders turned to him and shot at him. He was hit by a gray bullet in his chest, and he was thrown off his feet and crashed to the floor. Another bullet grazed his ear, and it was bleeding. He could see the rider of the giant flying dog, and froze as he recognized him.

The Chinese guard from Wimbledon.

Alex scanned the others quickly, and realized what was happening.

_The Chinese traids were revenging on Alex._

Alex couldn't believe what was happening with the animals. He realized they were the Chinese zodiac. _Are Chinese traids related to Chinese myth?_ He tried to make sense of the two things, but he was interupted by the memories about the attacks of the traids.

Alex remembered the incident in Wimbledon. And Cornwall. They almost killed him twice, but they weren't attacking anybody else at those times. And now, his new seven friends were being attacked by the traids and the monsters.

He fired his gun several times, and the dog winced in pain and fell to the sea. Alex saw Percy making waves, preventing the dog from rising. The Chinese guard was bleeding, and he disappeared into water, too.

Ten animals kept attacking. Frank shot an arrow at the a golden pig, and his pig exploded. But the other animals were to fast that his arrows couldn't find it's target. Hazel seemed like she succeeded to turn the giant rabbit into a cute white one, and its rider crashed into the deck, only to fell into the sea by hazel's sword.

The demigods and Alex were fighting to death, but they had no more luck. The traids were shooting constantly. A bullet broke Frank's bow, and Piper was shot in her leg. Jason was trying to blast the animals with lightning, but he couldn't since they were moving incredibly fast.

Alex kept shooting. Surprisingly, The bronze bullets were doing great. It kept injuring the animals. Alex could shoot a bullet to another Chinese on a sheep, and he realized this was the man who attacked him in Cornwall.

But the problem was the ox and the rat. The rat was sitting on the ox's head, and the ox was the fastest of the fastest. When Alex was doing his best not to lose the sight of the ox, Frank shouted at the ox.

"You stupid ox! Do you want to lose the first prize by the rat on your head again? You want to be a private transportation of that coward who stole your place? Fight that rat!" He yelled hard, but the ox wasn't listening. Then Piper repeated the same words. The ox started to fight the rat, and two more Chinese fell into the sea, and the rat was killed. When the ox was full of sastifaction, Jason blasted it with lightning.

The fighting went on. Alex's ear was still bleeding. The traids' gray bullets were making the air unbreathable. Mercury was a deadly element to everyone. If they stayed in this situation, they would all die in just a few hours.

That was when an unexpected help arrived.

* * *

Frank was getting tired. He dropped his bow and kept fighting with his sword, but the Chinese zodiac monsters were so fast that he didn't even have time to defend himself.

Then he saw another creature flying toward them. He couldn't see it since he was too busy fighting the giant white tiger.

His sword fell out of his hand as soon as if crashed itno the tiger's claw. He was quite sure the tiger would kill him any minute.

Then, a beautiful blue horse appeared. It attacked the tiger with it's hooves, and the tiger exploded after its head was completely squashed. The horse landed beside Frank.

_Nice to meet you, Frank. Did you know this year is the year of blue horse?_ the blue horse asked in a friendly voice.

Frank couldn't say anything. It was normaly Percy who could speak to horses. He took a step closer to the horse.

_ It's been a while since I chose a rider. Others chose Chinese traid leaders, since the traids were born in a special time. But they are stupid to be in part of that dirty organizatoin. Everything they do are dishonorable. _The horse paused for a moment and continued_. I choose you as my rider, Frank Zhang. You are the one who can bond the Chinese, Greek, and Roman._

The fight was still going on. Without hesitation, Frank got on the horse and he felt full of energy. Frank and the horse acted like one. They could fly in every directions, and they destroyed every enemy on their path. Finally, he stabbed the dragon on its forehead, then there was no more monsters left.

Frank got off the horse and patted it on his neck. "Good boy."

_It was nothing. I should have gotten here earlier, but I have to wait untill noon, the time of horse, since that's when I'm the strongest. _

_I can sense a stable in this ship. Can I rest in there _

"Uh, sure. Get some rest."

The horse flew toward the stable.

Frank turned back, and his friends were staring him in awe. Percy seemed like he was in shock. "What was that?"

"The sacred blue horse of this year, I think. It helped us to defeat other animals."

"I couldn't understand what it just said to you. How can this be?"

"You can't? Uh..." Frank was surprised by that."Anyway, he told me he chose me as his rider, saying I'm the only one who can bond Chinese, Greeks, and Romans."

"They were the Chinese traids. I recognized them" Alex said suddenly. "I didn't know they had such power. No wonder they are one of the largest organization in the world." Then he added, "I think they were revenging on me. I'm sorry." His hands were sightly shaking.

"It's not your fault. We were expecting attacks anyway. And Frank got that awesome horse!" Leo said, trying to grin.

Frank looked around and saw a hundred of Mercury bullets melting on the deck. "Someone should get rid of the Mercury, or we'll all die like Qin Shi Huang."


End file.
